


Gold

by prouveyrac



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Multi, and yes the title is a song from once sue me, this is probably kinda cliche but it's cute trust me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-10 11:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2023584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouveyrac/pseuds/prouveyrac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This love story starts with another one ending.</p><p>Or, to be specific, this love story starts before a meeting in a cafe, with two men meeting; one ready to have a relationship and another ready to put off relationships for a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. i. it's a risk to even fall in love

**Author's Note:**

> okay so basically this is a cutesy e/R fic and yeah it probably sounds a little cliche but it would mean a lot to me if you read it and left comments and kudos!!! <3
> 
> find me on tumblr at tattooedjehan !!!

This love story starts with another one ending.

Enjolras’ relationship ends with a door slam and a small box on the ground.

He stood still for a moment, his throat tightening. He held back a sob. Stomping footsteps can be heard down the metal staircase. Enjolras’ mind is reeling, trying to piece together what just happened.

His boyfriend -well, ex now- Austin had come home late the night before. Enjolras was on the brink of falling asleep when he came home and Austin had given him a quick kiss and said nothing before both fell asleep. He was then gone again early that next morning, leaving Enjolras no note or anything.

It should be mentioned that Enjolras has trust issues. Too many guys have walked all over him for him to have a lot of trust and faith in his partners. So, of course, he was suspicious.

And his suspicion led to questioning when Austin got back to their apartment ( _“Where have you been?”_ Enjolras had asked immediately. He got _“I’ve just been out”_ in response.). After a couple more exchanges, the couple found themselves arguing ( _“Do you even trust me?” “You know that it’s hard for me to trust anyone!”_ ).

Enjolras did not expect, in the middle of their argument, for a small velvet box to be thrown at his feet. That was what froze their argument. The two at first just stared at each other, fearful and frustrated. Enjolras then bent down and, with shaking hands, picked up the box, opening it to see a wedding band.

“Do you trust me, Enjolras?” Austin had asked, holding his anger back.

“I don’t know,” Enjolras had mumbled, “I don’t know who to trust… you know that.”

“Then why?” Enjolras flinched at his hard tone. “Why don’t you trust me? What have I done?”

“You’re never here now,” Enjolras said quietly. “And you don’t call or leave notes and when you come in late at night, you barely say anything to me…”

“Well what do you want me to do, Enjolras?” Austin then snapped, “What, do you want me to call and say that I’m overworking myself, trying to balance all my jobs, so that you don’t have to worry about the protests you plan and school and more jobs? Do you want me to call every night when I’m out a little longer with my friends, even though you do the same and never call? Do you want me to call to say that I’m running home late from work to get that ring? What do you want me to do? Because it seems like whatever I do, you don’t trust me!”

“I’m sorry it’s just…” He then trailed off, looking down at the ground.

“You think I’ve been cheating, don’t you.” Enjolras then looked up at his quieter voice. “After all this time, you still think I would go out to some club and hook up with someone. You think I would do that even when I love you so much?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Enjolras repeated, pulling at his own curls. “I just need to think and sort everything out….”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that,” Austin seethed, pulling his coat from the rack. “You won’t have to worry about me doing god fucking knows what anymore. Don’t think about whether you’re going to say yes or no, either.” He then swung the door open. “I’ll collect my stuff later.”

And that leaves Enjolras where he is now, still clutching the velvet box in his hand. After a second hesitation, a sob broke through his lips and he flung the box at the wall.

~~

“He just... left you with this?” Courfeyrac questioned from across the table, fiddling with the velvet box in his hand.

After Austin had left, it had taken Enjolras approximately five seconds to have a complete breakdown. After that, it took him about ten minutes to somewhat calm down and call Courfeyrac and Combeferre, telling them that they all needed to meet at their usual cafe now. And now here’s the trio, twenty minutes and two cups of coffee later.

Enjolras is trying to be apathetic to the whole situation. “Yeah,” he said with a shrug, “He’ll probably come get it when he gets his stuff. I would expect he wants it back…”

Courfeyrac and Combeferre shared a look before turning to Enjolras. “You’re acting awfully cool about all of this,” Courfeyrac said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I mean, relationships fail all the time, don’t they? I shouldn’t spend time dwelling on this one. Besides, there’s work to be done for our meetings and protests…” Enjolras calmly took a sip of his coffee.

Combeferre looked rather horrified at this. “Enjolras,” He said softly, “I don’t mean to break this to you, but this wasn’t a two week relationship with some guy you had a one night stand with. This was a relationship that lasted over two years. Maybe it’s just us thinking this, but don’t you think you’re acting a bit too… calm? Apathetic?”

Enjolras held Combeferre’s gaze for a moment before sighing loudly and dropping his head onto the table. “My theory is that if I act like I don’t care, I actually won’t care.”

“Enjolras,” Courfeyrac said gently, pushing Enjolras’ curls out of his face. “It’s okay to care. Like, I think we’d all be a little concerned if you acted like this is just a thing you can… drop after a couple hours.”

“I don’t have the time to sit here and mope for days though, that requires not getting work done,” Enjolras explained. “I have assignments to do and I still have to plan stuff for Les Amis since it’s new and I can’t let it drop and then of course meetings, so I can’t get behind on work because I’m moping.”

Combeferre sighed, running his finger along the rim of his glass. “E, you don’t have to over work yourself. There’s a reason both Courf and I volunteered to help you out with all of this. Take some time for yourself.”

“I need all this stuff for distractions though.” Enjolras straightened up, tying his curls back. “I’ll be fine, really.” He flashed a reassuring smile

The two across from him sighed. Enjolras frowned. “Besides,” he continued. “I’m done with all this dating and relationship stuff for the moment. Like, there are bigger things I need to worry about. So now my top priorities are my work, Les Amis, and friends.”

“And not overworking yourself,” Courfeyrac quickly added.

“Yeah I guess that’s somewhere in there,” Enjolras smirked, standing up from the booth and pulling on his jacket. He grabbed his bag and put it over his shoulder. “But for right now, we actually have work to do for this group. If we want to make change, we can’t procrastinate on it.”

“You’re right,” Courfeyrac said, sliding out of his seat, followed by Combeferre.

“But we’re not working all night,” Combeferre said firmly.

“Fine,” Enjolras murmured. The trio then turned to exit the cafe.

Just then, another man was entering a cafe, the cold winter air blowing in behind him.

There are times when the planets align and fate plays its game in two men’s life, destiny happens and those two men meet in a cafe and just know.

This was not one of those times, though it was a close time, considering the two men were only a street away from each other.

So the two men had taken their separate ways, one greeted by cold air and snow and the other greeted by warmth and the smell of coffee beans.


	2. ii. a romantic cynic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The man who entered the cafe was Grantaire. A cynic with a habit of drinking, people were always shocked to learn three things about the man. One, he’s actually quite intelligent and can probably cite more things from memory than you. Two, he’s a boxer and a fencer. Three, he’s a romantic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern day. Grey-romantic, pansexual Eponine. Bigender Joly (she/hers or he/him). Agender Jehan (they/them). 
> 
> find me on tumblr at tattooedjehan !!! it would be great if you left kudos and reviews :)

The man who entered the cafe was Grantaire. A cynic with a habit of drinking, people were always shocked to learn three things about the man. One, he’s actually quite intelligent and can probably cite more things from memory than you. Two, he’s a boxer and a fencer. Three, he’s a romantic.

Yes, the cynic does not believe in much. But one thing this one does is love and the idea of it. Perhaps it’s because love is the one thing that can keep someone happy, whether it be love through family, friends, or romantic partners.

Grantaire loves his friends, and they make him happy. Yes, they might just keep him around because he’s entertaining, but that means they like him for some part of him. And in the end, that’s enough. Grantaire’s a fairly confident person in himself, despite his looks not being “conventionally attractive” ( _“Who cares about any of that?”_ Grantaire would say to that. _“I’m happy with the way I am for the most part.”_ ). He can also be a bit sarcastic or snarky. And of course there are some people who would find that irritating or annoying. But his friends, and four of his closest, don’t seem to. So that makes them keeping him around definitely enough.

The four mentioned before (Bossuet, Joly, Jehan, and Eponine) followed behind him into the cafe. They took their place at their usual booth. Eponine leaned against Grantaire, practically smushing him against the wall of their booth. Joly went over to the counter to get everyone’s drinks.

“So, Jehan,” Bossuet started, leaning his elbows on the table. “How was the date you had with that guy?”

“It went pretty good,” Jehan replied. “I think there will be a second date.” They smiled, looking down at their chipped nail polish.

“Well that’s good,” Eponine said, “From what you’ve said about him, I would hope there’d be one.”

“And you know, R,” Jehan said. “Since you’ve been saying that you’re looking for someone, I know he has a cute friend who happens to be pansexual. I would say two, but from what I’ve heard, one of them is in a very committed relationship. But I can probably set you up with his single friend.”

“I’m not really one for blind dates,” Grantaire said, looking out the window as snow started to fall. “Since you’re having that little holiday party-get together thing on Friday, just invite this guy you’re seeing over and tell him to invite his friend. We can meet and see if we hit it off.”

“Hit what off?” Joly asked as she returned with all their drinks, managing to hold all five at once. She then sat down next to Bossuet, leaning her head on his shoulder

“Jehan is setting R up with a date,” Eponine smirked, taking a sip from her drink.

“With this friend of this guy they’re seeing now,” Grantaire explained, taking a sip from his drink (and burning his mouth).

“And just so you all know, his name is Felix,” Jehan said, pulling their hair back into a bun.

“And it’ll be perfect!” Bossuet exclaimed, grinning. “Jehan has another date, Joly and I -and Musichetta if she can come- can make sure this guy is not a total dick, Grantaire gets laid-” He winked at Grantaire (Grantaire groaned)- “And-”

“And if I can’t find anyone who wouldn’t mind a hookup with no romantic attractions,” Eponine cut him off, grinning, “I can just get high with Montparnasse on Jehan’s balcony!” Bossuet and Eponine high fived as Jehan complained about how last time the pair left their balcony smelling like weed for the rest of the night.

“And how does Montparnasse even get up there?” Joly asked, running a hand through her short hair. “He just kind of… shows up there, like I never see him pass through your apartment, Jehan.”

“He goes up the fire escapes, something about being ‘mysterious’ and also having the joy of knocking on the windows he passes so he can scare the shit out of people,” Eponine explained. Grantaire chuckled at this, looking out the window as he sipped at his drink.

Grantaire had an… interesting group of friends. Eponine with her queerplatonic partner Montparnasse who she did hell knows what with (probably something illegal) whilst also somehow being the “mother hen” of them all. Jehan with their beautiful, light hearted poems which they write in their apartment that’s completely decked out in darkness and skulls. Joly and Bossuet with the shenanigans they get into and somehow being able to get back to their girlfriend Musichetta in one piece.

But Grantaire never finds them tiring or annoying. He loves being in their presence and wouldn’t want to have his life any other way.

The five then continued to have their drinks and eventually ordered food. They laughed their asses off when Bossuet told the story of how he almost got kicked out of his class that day and listened solemnly when Eponine ranted about how her parents refuse to believe that she feels little to no romantic attraction, yet she feels sexual attraction (and this argument mostly ends with said parents calling her a “whore” or a “slut” because they’re shitty that way). They all listened to Joly talk about her first day interning at the hospital a block from her apartment and then they all listened to Grantaire describe a painting he’s doing for his art class. After that, Jehan talked more about the date they went on, and the other four were glad to see that their friend was in such a good mood.

Finally, they all finished their food and collected their jackets, walking out together in a clump. As they all were about to turn separate ways, Jehan’s phone rang. They quickly read over the message and called for everyone to not leave yet.

Grantaire raised his eyebrows, waiting for Jehan to explain.

“So,” they started. “Apparently Felix and his two friends are starting this social activist group and they need supporters? The meetings are on Thursdays and he wants me to come to this first one. He also says to bring any friends, so… want to come?”

Grantaire looked around doubtfully as his friends discussed this around him.

“Yeah, we can,” Joly finally said. “R, ‘Ponine, you two should come too!”

“I can’t actually,” Eponine said, pulling her sleeves over her hands. “I have work.”

“R?” Jehan questioned, raising an eyebrow.

After a moment of thinking, Grantaire sighed. “Fine, I’ll go.”

His friends beamed at him.

After that, the friends parted; Joly and Bossuet going home together, Jehan going back to their apartment alone, and Eponine headed back to Grantaire’s apartment with him.

“So you’re actually going to this thing?” Eponine asked, smirking slightly and she fished through her bag. Finally, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes, taking one for herself and giving one to Grantaire.

“Yeah, I might as well.” Grantaire shrugged. He lit the cigarette, taking a drag from it.

“But I thought you didn’t do all this? Like, not saying that you don’t think minorities shouldn’t have the rights they deserve-”

“They should have the rights they deserve,” Grantaire confirmed, nodding.

“But, like,” Eponine continued, glaring at Grantaire for cutting her off. “I thought you didn’t believe that a small group could change stuff? Like, I mean, you always go off about the failed revolts and all of that.”

“Well, it’s for Jehan,” Grantaire said. “They seem to really like this Felix guy, and I feel like they’ll make an even better impression if they show up with a bunch of friends.”

“Aw, romantic Grantaire wants to help Jehan’s kinda-relationship prosper.” Eponine beamed, bumping her hip against Grantaire’s as she took a drag from her cigarette.

Grantaire rolled his eyes. “I’m only gonna go for one meeting. Like, I just want to let Jehan make a good impression, and then it’s over. It’s not like anything or anyone is gonna keep me there anyway.”

“Even the friend Jehan is setting you up with?” Eponine asked, raising an eyebrow. “Jehan said they’re gonna be there.”

“Even then,” Grantaire confirmed. “I don’t even think I’ll be of use there. It’s not like I have any arguments or stuff like that for social activist meetings.”

“Then just go, act interested or actually be interested, get a couple pictures of the guy Jehan is seeing and the friend they’re trying to set you up with, because I need to see them, and then leave once it’s over. And then every Thursday after that, you can come hang out with me at the bar.” Eponine looked pleadingly up at him.

“I don’t think anything is gonna want to keep me at that sleazy bar you work at either.” Grantaire laughed as Eponine flipped him off, throwing his cigarette butt into the nearest garbage.


End file.
